Washington (CNN)Polls confirmed this week what political junkies already knew: The first Republican presidential primary debate shuffled the GOP field, lifting some little known hopefuls, swatting down favorites and altering the state of the race for everyone.

The candidate who went hardest after Trump -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- is hanging on by a thread, amid reports he had to stop paying staff. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, once a favorite of libertarians and younger voters who was near the top of polls earlier in the year, has now resorted to taking shots at Trump.

Businessman Donald Trump announced June 16 at his Trump Tower in New York City that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. This ends more than two decades of flirting with the idea of running for the White House.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again," Trump told the crowd at his announcement.

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Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has made a name for himself in the Senate, solidifying his brand as a conservative firebrand willing to take on the GOP's establishment. He announced he was seeking the Republican presidential nomination in a speech on March 23.

"These are all of our stories," Cruz told the audience at Liberty University in Virginia. "These are who we are as Americans. And yet for so many Americans, the promise of America seems more and more distant."

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Ohio Gov. John Kasich joined the Republican field July 21 as he formally announced his White House bid.

"I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support ... because I have decided to run for president of the United States," Kasich told his kickoff rally at the Ohio State University.

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Hillary Clinton launched her presidential bid on April 12 through a video message on social media. The former first lady, senator and secretary of state is considered the front-runner among possible Democratic candidates.

"Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion -- so you can do more than just get by -- you can get ahead. And stay ahead," she said in her announcement video. "Because when families are strong, America is strong. So I'm hitting the road to earn your vote, because it's your time. And I hope you'll join me on this journey."

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, announced his run in an email to supporters on April 30. He has said the United States needs a "political revolution" of working-class Americans to take back control of the government from billionaires.

"This great nation and its government belong to all of the people and not to a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists," Sanders said at a rally in Vermont on May 26.

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And the strategy of playing it safe doesn't immediately seem to be paying off for Walker and establishment favorite Jeb Bush, whose performances didn't resonate as much.

Craig Robinson, editor of The Iowa Republican website and a veteran Iowa operative, said he is waiting to see if the shakeup sticks or not.

"I do think there is some cause for concern if you are someone like Walker or Bush," Robinson said. "Both are well known, and have been labeled front-runners in the race prior to the debate."

The debate, he said, may have chipped away at voters' views of some candidates.

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"In the minds of voters, Walker is supposed to be this conservative reformer who will stand firm on difficult issues. That didn't come across in the debate at all," he said. "And Bush is supposed to be the clear front-runner and commanding figure in a huge field of candidates. He was overshadowed by everyone he shared the stage with, and there is not one memorable moment from him in the entire debate."

In the absence of a Perry "oops" moment, which came to define the 2012 debates, clean shots by Fiorina, warm stories from Kasich and clear messaging and a personal narrative for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio shined through.

Kasich surged to third place in New Hampshire -- running neck-and-neck with Bush, who is leaning heavily on a win there. Fiorina broke out of the back of the pack, reaching the middle tier of contenders, and Rubio, who had been slipping in polls, was back to looking like a possible front-runner.

Bush, meanwhile, stumbled in delivering his lines and was pressed to defend national Common Core education standards -- a program that strikes a raw nerve among conservatives, who have dubbed it "Obamacore."

One of the most surprising drops was by Walker, who fell from his perch in Iowa. His supporters forecasted concerns last week when, just a few days before the debate, they announced a major $7 million ad campaign in Iowa, starting in September.

Walker said the polls reflect deep voter frustrations, but he is confident Republican voters will return to the fold by "the time the first votes are cast."

"I think the polls that you see, not just one, but a number of the candidates who are moving up are people who have not held political office," Walker said Thursday during a campaign swing through Illinois. "Why? Because that's a direct frustration with the fact that they feel, even in Washington, the Republicans haven't been able to get the job done. And so they're willing to express their frustration in these polls."

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For his part, Trump continues to dominate, despite a seemingly endless string of gaffes, staff scandals and wild comments that would have easily derailed most other campaigns.

During the debate, he refused to rule out a third-party run if he doesn't win the Republican nomination -- a prospect which could hand the White House to the Democrats. He also snapped back at Fox moderator Megyn Kelly when asked about his view of women, and later escalated the feud when he seemed to insinuate she was menstruating when peppering him on stage.

But polls that came out in the wake of the Kelly comments showed Trump holding his national lead and taking over Iowa.

The questions now are whether that dynamic will hold or whether this is just a post-debate blip, and what will the candidates do to shine in the next debate, which will be hosted by CNN on Sept. 16.